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Creating Routes with Basecamp

Former Member over 12 years ago

I am new user with a few questions regarding creating a new route using Basecamp. Here is my configuration information:

Garmin GPSMAP 62sc
Firmware version 3.60 (March 13, 2013)
SanDisk Ultra 8GB microSDHC Class 10 Memory Card

City Navigator North America NT
TOPO U.S. 24K West
BirdsEye TOPO, U.S. and Canada

Garmin Basecamp version 4.1.2 (March 11, 2013)

1. What is the correct step-by-step procedure for creating a hiking route in Basecamp?

Here is my current procedure: I select menu item File->New->Route. The “New Route” dialog box pops up. I select Hiking activity profile from the top of the dialog box. I ignore the “Drag start point here” and “Drag destination here”. The cursor has now been changed from “Select” arrow to a pencil. Using the BirdsEye TOPO map of my local mountains, I start clicking on the hiking route which is shown on the topo map as a dash line. Basecamp seem to recognize the route without the need to define a large number of points….. just a few clicks was enough to highlight the entire route which was impressive. I rename the route and send it to my Garmin GPSMAP 62sc. I used the Find button to locate and select the route.

PROBLEM 1: But when I viewed the route on the map page, it only showed the few points I defined with the pencil tool with straight lines between each point. The route did not match what was shown in Basecamp which followed the hiking trail on the map.

PROBLEM 2: I went back into Basecamp, delete the route, created a new route, and used the pencil tool to define the entire route using about 270 points. Sent the new route to my 62sc, use the Find button to locate and select the route…..my 62sc immediate crashed/shutdown. I tried deleting the number of points in the route down to 50 points but every time I tried to load the route, my 62sc would crash/shutdown…no warning…no error message…just immediate blank screen.

SOLUTION??: I finally was able to get a route to work by converting the route as defined in my initial description (few clicks to define route) to tracks and back to a route then exporting to my 62sc. Is this the correct procedure for creating routes?

2. When creating a Basecamp route using the pencil tool, is there any way to suppress the popup map name/altitude callouts which popup every time you click/stop moving your pencil tool? They are very annoying and always seem to block the next point on the route. I have to use the arrow keys to scroll the map up/down or left/right to remove the callout.

3. If a route is defined using one map (say BirdsEye TOPO, U.S.), can you use it with another map (say TOPO U.S. 24K West)? In general, can a route be used on another map that is different from the map used to create the route as long as the map is of the same area?

0 SUSSAMB over 12 years ago

You've asked a similar question in another thread, which I've just answered, so read that first (it's confusing when you start 2 threads on the same topic, best not to do that).

Problem 1. For the routes to match you need to be using the same map in BC as on your GPS, and with the same routing options. I suspect your GPS is currently set to 'off road', if you want it to 'route' you need to set it to 'on road'.

Problem 2. I think the limit on points in a route is 250, it is on my Etrex 20, so that could explain the crash. Having said that my Etrex simply truncates the route if there are too many points in it.

2. No, and you're right, it's a real PITA.

3. Yes, if you've used direct routing, in fact the route can be used without a map at all! Otherwise if the maps are routeable the route will be normally be recalculated based on the data in the new maps. Note this isn't universal, the Montana for example will not recalculate a route unless the user selects 'recalculate' but unsure whether that is the same for the 62 series?

0 Former Member over 12 years ago

Afternoon JCHAUVIN

For what you are doing, especially with different mapping between Base Camp & your GPS you are probably way better off making a TRACK than trying to make a route with no roads to route on.

A track will work with about any map you have in your unit.

A track also works much better than a route when no roads are available to route on.

You can either make a track or convert your route made in BaseCamp onto a track.

0 SUSSAMB over 12 years ago

1. Basically yes, a routeable map is one that contains the detail necessary for your GPS to calculate a route given two or more points.

2. Nothing wrong with allowing a GPS to choose a route, but often when hiking it may not be the route you want to take.

3. There's no 'correct' activity setting. Just that if you choose a setting in BC it needs to mirror that on your GPS as far as possible or you'll get a different route. A simple example, if you set it on your GPS to 'avoid toll roads' but that wasn't set in BC you'll get a different route.

4. Who knows :), but then it's been a while since I've been on a motorcycle. Have a look at the various activity profiles in BC and see how they've been set up. I only use two, automobile and direct. Note though you can customise them should you wish to.

5. I always use direct routing rather than a track. Both can be as accurate as each other. Routes IMO provide better information while I'm hiking.

Try experimenting to find what works for you :)

0 SUSSAMB over 12 years ago

Afternoon JCHAUVIN

For what you are doing, especially with different mapping between Base Camp & your GPS you are probably way better off making a TRACK than trying to make a route with no roads to route on.

A track will work with about any map you have in your unit.

A track also works much better than a route when no roads are available to route on.

You can either make a track or convert your route made in BaseCamp onto a track.

That's not quite true. Both a track and a route will work without maps, and with any map you have in your GPS. Where routes differ is that they *may* change depending on the map you have loaded.

0 Former Member over 12 years ago

Evening SUSSAMB

Actually it is true as routes suck for off road usage as you just can't get enough points in most units to have a route follow a convoluted path off road unless the route is very short or very straight.

0 SUSSAMB over 12 years ago

You raise an issue here you didn't before :)

I agree on longer routes you may run into issues with number of route points. However you can have up to 250 points in a route, so enough for me when hiking ... and some days I'll do up to 30 miles. The decider for me as I pointed out is that routes provide more of the information I want when I'm hiking.

And as I suggested to the OP, he should experiment to find out what works for him ... for me I never use tracks.

0 BTLAAKE over 12 years ago

Here is some basic information on Garmin routes.

In the Garmin world, there are two types of routes, Automated and Direct.

Automated routes require a routable map. An example of a non-routable map is the Global Map. The points a user enters must be in the finished route. These are the via points under the Properties tab when you double click on a finished route. Most devices seem to be limited to a maximum of 50 user points (some may allow 51). An algorithm finds the final route (following the roads, trails etc.). The final calculated route will contain many points.

Activity Profiles provide the criteria to help the algorithm choose a route. Should it go on a divided highway or stay on residential streets. Should if find the shortest distance or the fastest time. Automated routes can use any Activity Profile except Direct. In all cases, the route must get from one user entered point to the next user entered point by way of the routable objects in the map (roads/trails/paths), it can not fly directly from one user point to the next user point.

What happens if a user point isn’t on a routable object? The algorithm will find the nearest point on a routable object (say a road) go directly to the user point and directly back to the routable object then continue on.

In BaseCamp, a profile’s criteria can be found under Utilites>Options>Activity Profile>Routing tab.

Direct routes will contain only the points a user enters. Use the Direct Activity Profile for a Direct route. Direct routes allow more points (250 on my GPSr). There is no computation.

Tracks allow many more points. On my unit, a track can contain up to 10,000 points.

I don’t think that Birdseye imagery contains routable information. I believe that it is just an image that sits on top of a map. Routes will use the information in the map underneath the image. I may well be wrong about this.

How a route made in BaseCamp will behave a GPS receiver will depend on the specific model and the version of its firmware.

0 Former Member over 12 years ago

Here is some basic information on Garmin routes.

In the Garmin world, there are two types of routes, Automated and Direct.

Automated routes require a routable map. An example of a non-routable map is the Global Map. The points a user enters must be in the finished route. These are the via points under the Properties tab when you double click on a finished route. Most devices seem to be limited to a maximum of 50 user points (some may allow 51). An algorithm finds the final route (following the roads, trails etc.). The final calculated route will contain many points.

Activity Profiles provide the criteria to help the algorithm choose a route. Should it go on a divided highway or stay on residential streets. Should if find the shortest distance or the fastest time. Automated routes can use any Activity Profile except Direct. In all cases, the route must get from one user entered point to the next user entered point by way of the routable objects in the map (roads/trails/paths), it can not fly directly from one user point to the next user point.

What happens if a user point isn’t on a routable object? The algorithm will find the nearest point on a routable object (say a road) go directly to the user point and directly back to the routable object then continue on.

In BaseCamp, a profile’s criteria can be found under Utilites>Options>Activity Profile>Routing tab.

Direct routes will contain only the points a user enters. Use the Direct Activity Profile for a Direct route. Direct routes allow more points (250 on my GPSr). There is no computation.

Tracks allow many more points. On my unit, a track can contain up to 10,000 points.

I don’t think that Birdseye imagery contains routable information. I believe that it is just an image that sits on top of a map. Routes will use the information in the map underneath the image. I may well be wrong about this.

How a route made in BaseCamp will behave a GPS receiver will depend on the specific model and the version of its firmware.

Mostly correct above but "the times they are a changin'...". Both MapSource and now BaseCamp support "mixed-routes". Or, Mixed-Travel Routing which will be fully supported in v4.2. Mixed-routes contain segments of any type of routing path defined by the user; this includes Direct Routing segments. It is of course, as you noted, up to the GPS to handle transferred routes properly: i.e, not calculate a new path based upon the GPS's Activity settings. Many of the newer zumo's and Handheld GPS's and some of the older GPSMAP units form Garmin will not recalculate a route if it is transferred to the GPS's internal storage directly from BaseCamp. I don't know if the newer nuvi units support this. Maybe someone here does?

Cheers,

0 ScumCoder over 3 years ago in reply to BTLAAKE

I registered on this forum just to thank you for this post. It's baffling that explanations like these are not in the official Garmin user manual.